Food Allergy Or Food Intolerance –What’s The Difference?
Jeremy Scott – Jeremy Scott Fitness
Let’s jump right into this how do you know if you have a legit certified food allergy or is it just a high intolerance?
I will start with myself here on this one, there is only one real thing I am allergic too on this earth that I know of and that is bees. They are lethal to myself – hey even Superman had kryptonite right? How do I know I am allergic? I have been stung before which resulted in a violent allergic reaction my face swelled up like something out of the Goonies, my breathing slowed and my throat began to close….not a sweet feeling or great for living very long the whole throat closing thing.
I have been rushed to the emergency room before after being stung in the face, which resulted in face swelling so much even my eyes had turned black and blue underneath as a result. I rock an Epipen most of the time just in case I need to give myself a shot to buy me a few minutes before heading to the hospital…..so yeah that is a legit allergy.
So with me it’s bee stings that cripple me and could bring to me death without proper care…for many people ceratin foods can do this as well….
Food reactions happen all the time, but for most people it’s just intolerance and not a classified allergy. Intolerance can act very similar to an allergy and the symptoms can often times be the exact same making if confusing to tell them apart.
A legit allergy affects the immune system as well as organs inside ones body. Often times like in my case with bee stings food allergies can be deadly. On the flip side your intolerance which is a pain in the ass sometimes literally sucks to deal with and will cause you issues but won’t kill you like an allergy could.
The biggest thing to remember would be if you allergic even a tiny amount of the food be is wheat if you have a gluten allergy can cause a pretty serious reaction such as cramps, vomiting, diarrhea and even worse such as hives, and swelling of the lips, tongue, and your throat making breathing tough.
Bottom line if you have a food allergy you need to avoid eating the offending food all together, just as in the way I stay away from bees or run like Michael Johnson from them anytime I see one.
If you just have an intolerance such as I have with wheat or gluten I can generally eat a small amount of wheat without any trouble – although I have went 100% gluten free for the past 6 months now – if I did accidently eat some wheat or take a drink of beer I won’t drop dead on the spot. However, if I go out and smash a ton of pizza and cookies I will be reliving one of the most famous scenes from Dumb & Dumber in my bathroom!
I know often times people cut out entire food groups, which if it works for you go ahead, it worked for me with gluten and all things wheat. But just know if you love dairy products and you are not allergic you don’t need to cut the out 100% just understand if you enjoy them in small amounts in moderation you will probably be ok.
I hope this helps some of you guys understand the difference and not fear all food groups and at the end of the day do what works best for you I am an all or nothing kind of guy so for me cutting things out works best just know you don’t have to!
Jeremy Scott Fitness